I am taking command of the fleet.

Considering that Picard was violating orders just by being there, how was he able to take command of the fleet so easily? His own crew thought the order keeping him away was bullshit; did the rest of the fleet think so too?

On a related note, why didn't Starfleet transfer Picard off the Enterpise and send it into battle under Riker's command? Riker is, after all, the only Starfleet officer in the Alpha Quadrant who has ever commanded a starship in a confrontation against the Borg and won. (Unless you count Archer, but my guess is that he's no longer active in Starfleet. Did anybody in the 24th century ever try omicron radiation?)

How come the weapons the Borg fire on the Phoenix compound are so wimpy? Same reason.

How come the Borg come to Earth and fight through 24th century Starfleet defenses before going back in time, instead of going back in time first and then going to Earth with nobody but 21st century defenses in their way?

Most depressing line in Star Trek: "something called tequila." No tequila in the 24th century?

While the Enterprise-E was never officially called the Federation flagship onscreen like the Enterprise-D was, I'm inclined to think she was and that gave Picard more or less the authority of a commodore when it came to fleet operations. Another possibility is that at the Battle of Sector 001, Picard may have simply been the most senior captain on the scene upon his arrival and everyone in the fleet knew it.

As far as why didn't Starfleet put Riker in command, I think they knew they would have also required Picard to leave the ship as well and there were more important things going on at the time (such as the Borg invading Federation space), so the quickest and easiest solution was to simply the entire Enterprise out of the equation as an unknown factor.

That regulation Janeway threw at Ransom in Equinox said something to the effect of in a combat situation, the vessel with tactical superiority is in command. If there were no Admirals, he could claim command easy enough.

Most depressing line in Star Trek: "something called tequila." No tequila in the 24th century?

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In a galaxy where there are Klingon alcoholic drinks, Ferengi alcoholic drinks, Romulan, Breen, Cardassian and any number of other species with brand new kinds of alcoholic drinks, are you really that surprised that some will not be as well known as they are today?

Starfleet Regulation 191 (Article 14): In a combat situation involving more than one ship, command falls to the vessel with tactical superiority, should there not be a higher ranking officer present.

I'd say of all the ships in the fleet engaging the Cube, the E-E has tactical superiority, giving Picard more than enough justification to assume command. Add to that he was the previous CO of the Federation Flagship, I'd think most Captain's would line up behind him, regardless of how he came to be involved.

How come the Borg come to Earth and fight through 24th century Starfleet defenses before going back in time, instead of going back in time first and then going to Earth with nobody but 21st century defenses in their way?

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There wouldn't be a story otherwise! But, my personal interpretation, the Borg want technology as well as assimilating species. Earth in the 24th century is a greater prize than Earth in the 21st. So they send a cube to assimilate Earth, and only when that fails do they attempt time travel, a back up plan so they get something rather than nothing.

Most depressing line in Star Trek: "something called tequila." No tequila in the 24th century?

Click to expand...

In a galaxy where there are Klingon alcoholic drinks, Ferengi alcoholic drinks, Romulan, Breen, Cardassian and any number of other species with brand new kinds of alcoholic drinks, are you really that surprised that some will not be as well known as they are today?

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Troi did grow up on Betazed.... and even so, doesn't seem like she'd be the heavy liquor type... which the movie supports.

That regulation Janeway threw at Ransom in Equinox said something to the effect of in a combat situation, the vessel with tactical superiority is in command. If there were no Admirals, he could claim command easy enough.

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This.

Someone has to take command and starfleet regs dictate that it's the dude with the most bad ass ship

Perhaps Picard is the longest-serving officer holding the rank of Captain, so has seniority? (If Morgan Bateman was indeed there I wonder how his seniority was calculated! And whether he received 78 years of back-pay).

Perhaps Picard is the longest-serving officer holding the rank of Captain, so has seniority? (If Morgan Bateman was indeed there I wonder how his seniority was calculated! And whether he received 78 years of back-pay).

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If seniority was a factor, Ransom should've held rank over Janeway by that logic. He certainly looked older than her.

It's seniority in rank, not seniority in age. If Ransom gained his fourth pip after Janeway did, he would be Janeway's junior.

No doubt the Starfleet rule about the ship rather than the person mattering makes things considerably clearer in combat. One doesn't need to call up Starfleet records to see which ship is the more powerful combatant...

Although regarding this, the decision to banish both Picard and his ship (rather than, say, send Riker orders to take command of the ship and throw Locutus in the brig, eject him in a lifepod, or execute him) may have been influenced by the E-E not being considered particularly combatworthy. For a parallel in history, the King George V class of battleships was the most powerful in the Royal Navy during the hunt for the Bismarck, but these ships were "the most advanced in the fleet" to their own detriment: HMS Prince of Wales did not have all the kinks worked out yet, and the factory crews still aboard failed to make her gun turrets properly combatworthy before the engagement with the German ship, to the detriment of the British.

Quite possibly, Starfleet thought it could afford to keep the still experimental and unreliable Sovereign class in the sidelines during this Borg invasion. And sending Picard to shake the ship down was fitting punishment for the man who lost the previous Enterprise...

How come the Borg come to Earth and fight through 24th century Starfleet defenses before going back in time, instead of going back in time first and then going to Earth with nobody but 21st century defenses in their way?

Click to expand...

There wouldn't be a story otherwise! But, my personal interpretation, the Borg want technology as well as assimilating species. Earth in the 24th century is a greater prize than Earth in the 21st. So they send a cube to assimilate Earth, and only when that fails do they attempt time travel, a back up plan so they get something rather than nothing.

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If that is the case and Borg want to assimilate Earth 24th century technology so bad. Why sent one cube. Heck wouldnt it be better sent 2 or 3 cubes to assimilate Earth or just hold one cube at Federation border and if the Cubes fails their mission. Cube at the border would time traval back in time to prevent First Contact and sent message to Borg Collective.. Also Borg have Time Travel Technology to use whenever they want... They can try again and again until they suceed.

Because the script required a reason for Picard to charge in and save the day.

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this, and it was also about making Picard look more like Kirk. The whole "order the Enterprise away from the battle" nonsense was about making Picard look like more of a badass by defying orders and doing what was necessary to charge in and save the day. Making him look more like Kirk, to put it bluntly.

Especially if things are going badly and they know him for a veteran. Or mistake him for one.

The movie might have played it a bit more coyly there, letting the audience wonder whether it was Picard or Locutus speaking there. The man did essentially tell the fleet to stop firing at the Borg ship until he gave them permission, which must have sounded at least a tad suspicious.